Medical error Matters

Medical and Hospital Errors

It’s estimated that over 8 million hospital patients suffer preventable medical harm each year of which up to 440,000 patients die in hospitals after a medical error or hospital acquired infection as published in the Journal of Patient Safety. Errors or mistakes also occur frequently in other areas of patient care and may cause significant physical, emotional, and financial harm to the patient and their family. In many instances, the patient is unaware that an error in their care occurred. The mistake or serious complication is thought to be a normal course of treatment since the patient lacks the medical knowledge to think otherwise. There are occasions where a patient or their family suspects a serious medical error or have unanswered questions. Consultation with an attorney may be helpful in obtaining answers and obtaining financial recovery if a serious health compromising error is found. Listed below are multiple ways an error can occur.

Failure to diagnose Failure to diagnose also known as ‘loss of chance’ is when a healthcare provider fails to timely diagnose a patient’s medical condition that leads to more serious avoidable medical harm. For example, overlooking an early stage curable cancer allowing it to progress to the point where it can’t be treated.

Misdiagnosis A misdiagnosis is when a healthcare provider informs you that you have some illness or condition but it is incorrect. For example, being given the diagnosis of a simple migraine headache when in actuality it is meningitis.

Medication Mix-Ups Medication mix-ups are when the patient is provided with the wrong medication for their medical disorder. This is often the result of pharmacy error and/or nursing dispensing error. Many medications look alike and sound alike which leads to patients receiving the wrong medication. The prescribing and use of medications has grown substantially in the last decade leading to increased errors by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

Adverse drug effects In certain circumstances, prescribed medications may cause appreciable harm or an unpleasant avoidable reaction. There may be a failure to coordinate medications to determine patient sensitivity and need causing preventable injury.

Lack of informed consent This is a failure to provide a patient with adequate information to make an informed decision about having a particular ‘invasive’ treatment or procedure. Patients may not be adequately informed of all other treatment options or comparative risks declining the proposed treatment or procedure to decide on the best way to proceed.

Pursuing a Medical Malpractice Claim

A lawsuit is filed after a decision is made to pursue a medical malpractice claim. In the State of Pennsylvania, there is generally a two year time limit (statute of limitations) to file a suit from the date of injury or discovery of the injury. It is important to discuss your matter and allow time for its thorough evaluation as soon as possible.